The NCAA backs down | Will allow all ‘athletes to be paid from their names, images and likeness’

Updated Oct 29, 2019; Posted Oct 29, 2019

FILE - In this March 21, 2013, file photo taken with a fisheye lens, the NCAA logo is displayed at mid-court before Albany's practice for a second-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Philadelphia. A judge has ruled against the NCAA in a federal antitrust lawsuit, saying football and basketball players should be permitted to receive more compensation from schools but only if the benefits are tied to education. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)AP

The specifics of the compromise are still in the works. However, one thing is clear: At some point in the not-too-distant future, schools from all states will be prevented from prohibiting college athletes from being compensated for their names, images and likeness -- something the NCAA has argued dilutes the spirit of amateur athletics and has pushed back against.

Until now.

The chairman of the NCAA board of governors says the association hopes to avoid a court battle against states that are attempting to pass laws aimed at dismantling the NCAA’s rules.

The NCAA board voted on Tuesday to allow athletes to profit from their names, images and likenesses, but much work still needs to be done to determine how that will work within NCAA rules.

Ohio State President Michael Drake said the board hopes that “all who are interested in the future welfare of student-athletes would work with us to get to that point and using reasonable processes to get there.”

California recently passed a law allowing its collegiate student-athletes to be paid for their likeness as soon as 2023 and there are many other states following its lead. Although California was the first state to announce such a law, joining states could put the law into effect even sooner.